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Akwa Ibom wins CIRDDOC 2020 best budget transparency award
In a move that gives credence and endorsement of the commitment of the Udom Emmanuel led administration in ensuring openness, transparency and accountability in budgeting and governance, the Akwa Ibom State Government has been ranked one of the best performing states in the 2020 sub-National Budget Transparency Survey. The survey which was conducted by the Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC) to ascertain the level of budget performance by states of the federation revealed that Akwa Ibom and four other states topped the budget performance index for the year, 2020. The Nigerian States Budget Transparency Survey Report also revealed that Akwa Ibom and some other Nigerian States have significantly improved budget transparency and participation, and has improved the ro...
JAMB: CBT centres must carry names of their examination towns
File Photo Ahead of the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and direct entry registration exercise, all Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres across the nation have been mandated to feature the name of the examination town in which they are located as part of their identity for easy recognition and accessibility. The registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, made this known recently at a meeting with the Board’s Zonal Directors and State Coordinators. The move is to enable candidates to have a good grasp of centres within their chosen examination towns. The registrar had called on the state coordinators to ensure that examination towns are well delineated for easy location by candidates and avoid any situation where candidates wo...
CSOs threaten to occupy National Assembly over Electoral Act amendment
A coalition of Civil Society Organisations has threatened to occupy the National Assembly after Ramadan fasting, if the lawmakers fail to pass the Bill for an amendment of the Electoral Act. The CSOs which include Center For Liberty, Concerned Nigeria, The Electoral Hub, and Raising New Voices Initiative, issued the threat at a joint news conference on Thursday in Abuja. The Co-convener, Centre for Liberty, Mr Dare Ariyo-Atoye, who read the joint speech of the CSOs, said they were worried that the 9th National Assembly was yet to pass the bill. According to him the passage of the bill could have given them lasting legacies and written their names in gold. Ariyo-Atoye said that in the last 15 months, CSOs had consistently engaged lawmakers and appealed to the NASS to make the passage of a n...
Lagos: Councillors suspend council chairman for ‘fraud’
The Chairman, Surulere Local Government, Lagos State, Tajudeen Ajide, has been suspended for alleged financial impropriety. This is according to a letter sent to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police by the nine councillors at the local government. The suspension, according to the councillors, is sequel to a resolution dated April 9, 2021 wherein a vote of no confidence was passed in Ajide. The names of the councillors include: Akande Barakat, Adebisi David, Fasasi Ajenifuja, Phillips Olubunmi, Otinwa Eric, Ijitola Oluwasegun, Ajala Ajibola, Kareem Abiodun and Kazeem Bello. They asked both the police commissioner and the area commander, Area C, to deploy policemen in the local government secretariat to prevent hoodlums from attacking them. The letter read in part, “We the undersigned by t...
APC chieftain writes on ’21 political lies in Nigeria’
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, says his book on “21 political lies in Nigeria” is to educate the electorate on the antics of politicians during elections. Oyedepo said this on Monday in Ilorin while speaking at the presentation of the book. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the 21 chapter, 140 pages book chronicled many lies told by politicians to win votes during campaigns. According to Iyiola, the book is targeted mainly to educate the electorate on how to vote for candidates seeking their franchise, adding that if the electorate votes wrongly, it will live with them for another four years. He said: “I sat down and examined issues through which we win election and I discovered that some of these issues may be there. “They are imp...
Official: Why CCB denies Nigerians access to public officers’ assets information
The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) on Wednesday explained why it denies Nigerians access to the details of the assets declared by public officers. The chair person of the bureau, Muhammad Isah, also disclosed that assets declaration would soon become online-based. Mr Isah, represented by his special assistant, Mustapha Musa, spoke in Lagos at a meeting on ‘Promoting Transparency and Accountability in Asset Declaration by High-Ranking Public Officers’. Newsmen report that the meeting was organised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). On access to public officers’ assets information, the CCB chair said the bureau never honoured citizens’ requests for such information because the National Assembly had yet to give the guidelines for such public disclosure. He said the...
Yiaga Africa demands effective monitoring, evaluation of coronavirus vaccination
A Civil Society Organisation, CSO, Yiaga Africa, on Monday, demanded effective monitoring and evaluation of COVID-19 vaccination and also strengthening the nation’s health sector. This was stated by the Director of Programmes, Yiaga Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu, while speaking on the need for the vaccination to be guided by certain principles that would bring about the inclusion of all citizens in the process. Mbamalu said: “The conversation is important to ensure that the whole process of vaccination is guided by certain principles and every aspect of society is catered for. In the implementation of vaccines in Nigeria, we need to deploy effective monitoring and evaluation systems that will help document how well we have done, document the learning, and how we can improve on the system. “Beyon...
Sudan and rebel group sign agreement on separation of religion and state
The Sudanese government and a major rebel group from its southern Nuba Mountains on Sunday signed a document which paves the way for a final peace agreement by guaranteeing freedom of worship to all while separating religion and the state. The signing is viewed as a crucial step in efforts by the power-sharing government headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to reach accords with rebel groups across the country and end decades of conflicts that left millions displaced and hundreds of thousands dead. Last year Sudan signed a peace agreement with many groups, including from the Western region of Darfur. But a key faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, did not join in last year’s agreement because it stuck to its demand that Sudan dispens...
EFCC chairman: I will resign If asked to do anything contrary to my conscience
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has said that he will resign if he’s asked to compromise. This is as he vowed to ensure that corruption in Nigeria is gotten rid of, saying the “rule of law and fear of God shall be his guiding principles.” The EFCC boss said this on Friday, March 26, 2021, when he featured in a Nigerian Television Authority interview programme One-on-One. His words were disclosed in a statement titled ‘We’ll rid Nigeria of corruption – Bawa Vows,’ which was issued on the official Twitter handle of the EFCC. “We need to change our attitudes in Nigeria,” Bawa was quoted to have said. “We are in the habit of worshipping people that have money in the society, but never bother to ask questions about their source of income. In winn...
Southwest APC governors call for the re-evaluation of party’s constitution
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has stressed the need for the continuous re-evaluation of the Constitution of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to reflect its democratic tendencies, where members practice and ensure internal democracy. Governor Abiodun, who stated this at the APC Constitution Review (South West Stakeholders Meeting) held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta, noted that it was time to tinker with the Constitution to make the party more potent and acceptable to the people. He said, “It is important that we come together to appraise ourselves as members of this great party, and, even look critically at the structure of our party. This will give us the opportunity to evaluate the journey so far. It is a period of self-examination”. “In doing this, the Constitut...
NDLEA rues over shipment of illegal cargoes through Nigeria’s seaports
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has said some ships and their crew bring in illegal consignments from the port of origin into the country. NDLEA also hinted that the shipments are perfected by at the Nigerian end of the transaction by collaborators on arrival at the nation’s ports. Disclosing this in Lagos at the Joint Vessel Boarding Meeting held in Lagos, Assistant Area Commander, NDLEA, Mercy Thompson, noted that the recent drug seizure made at Tin-can Island Port by the Agency was also brought in the same way. She, therefore implored ship crew members to cooperate with representatives government agencies boarding vessels, while complaining that most times the ship captains and their crew refuse to come out to meet them while other times the crew are very uncooperative....
CAN: Isa Pantami serving President Buhari’s interest
File Photo The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, says President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Isa Pantami as Nigeria’s communications minister to serve a predetermined purpose, noting the government will not cast him away no matter how loud the call for his removal becomes. CAN’s position was relayed by its General Secretary Joseph Daramola in an interview with Punch. The comments come less than 24 hours after the presidency defended Mr Pantami of his alleged support for terrorist groups. Mr Daramola said the Christian body is not surprised that the presidency swiftly came out to exonerate Pantami, saying those who tapped him for the job were quite aware of his antecedents and must have given him specific instructions to carry out in government. “Government studies the characters they pu...